Police Department History

The Cudahy Police Department as we know it today dates back to 1906. Excerpt from Generations of Pride, A Centennial History of Cudahy, WI (pages 82-86).

Chief ThomasPoellot Named 2016 Wisconsin Law Enforcement Officer of the Year

Attorney General Brad Schimel and Chief Tom Poellot

Police Chief Thomas Poellot was selected by the Wisconsin Department of Justice as the 2016 Law Enforcement Officer of the Year for work in the City of Cudahy, in Milwaukee County, and throughout the State of Wisconsin relating to domestic violence. On March 14, 2016 Chief Poellot received the award from Attorney General Brad Schimel at the Attorney General’s Summit.

“It’s an honor to be recognized as Wisconsin’s Law Enforcement Officer of the Year. This award is a reflection of the partnership and collaboration that’s taking place between law enforcement, prosecutors, and advocates to keep victims of domestic violence safe,” Chief Tom Poellot. “It’s imperative that we work together and that we utilize best practices to stop the generational cycle of violence that’s taking place. Domestic violence work is homicide prevention.”

Chief Poellot has been in law enforcement for 29 years, including 3 years US Army Military Police. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice Administration with a specialization in Management, a Graduate Certificate in Criminal Justice Education, and has a Master’s Degree in Criminal Justice Leadership. Chief Poellot is a graduate of Northwestern University’s School of Police Staff and Command and is a graduate of the FBI National Academy.

Chief Poellot is a past President of the Milwaukee County Law Enforcement Executives Association (MCLEEA) and serves as the Chair of MCLEEA’s Domestic Violence Committee. Chief Poellot served on the Family Justice Center Committee to assist Sojourner in opening the only Family Peace Center (FPC) in the State of Wisconsin, which is also the largest in a the nation. He is a board member of Sojourner Family Peace Center and serves as the Chair of the Personnel Committee for Sojourner.

Chief Poellot is a member of the Wisconsin Department of Justice Domestic Violence Training Team and serves as a member of the Wisconsin Department of Justice Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Training Advisory Subcommittee to develop and update training for law enforcement in the State of Wisconsin.

In 2013, funded by WisDOJ, Chief Poellot led a multidisciplinary team of people to Boston to research and develop a plan to implement the Lethality Assessment Program (LAP), in Milwaukee County. The purpose of the LAP is to identify victims at highest risk of intimate partner domestic violence lethality and help those victims get into services to keep them safe. In 2014 Milwaukee County became the largest group to implement the LAP in the country and Chief Poellot was the grant administrator for that initiative. This program has been established as a pilot program for the State of Wisconsin and Chief Poellot continues to actively work on that project with Wisconsin DOJ. Chief Poellot served as a member of a team of master instructors in 2016 to expand the LAP to 9 additional counties across the state – a total of 7 domestic violence service programs and 54 law enforcement agencies.

In 2015, funded by WisDOJ, Chief Poellot led another multidisciplinary team to Boston to research and develop a plan to establish a Domestic Violence High Risk Team model for Milwaukee County as a pilot program for the State of Wisconsin. Through Chief Poellot’ s ongoing collaborative efforts between law enforcement, prosecutors, advocates and other system partners major improvements have been made to keep victim’s safe and hold offenders accountable, using US Department of Justice best practices.